Mindy Morgan reads a note at the memorial where six teens were killed in a car crash in Warren, Ohio on Sunday. / Scott R. Galvin, AP

by Staff and wire reports, USA TODAY

by Staff and wire reports, USA TODAY

The only two survivors of a deadly crash in Ohio Sunday that left six teenagers dead told state troopers that the driver of the SUV was swerving and speeding before crashing into a guardrail and landing upside down in a swampy pond.

The driver, Alexis Cayson, 19, didn't have a valid license, according to a report on the crash released Tuesday. Cayson and five boys in the SUV, which was reported stolen, were killed.

Brian Henry, 19, and Asher Lewis, 15, told state troopers about the frightening minutes before the crash in the Northeast Ohio city of Warren.

Henry said Cayson sped up rounding what's known as "Dead Man's Curve," and he pleaded with her to slow down. Lewis said it felt like the SUV was going 80 mph on a road that has a 35-mph speed limit.

"The lady driving was playing around when she was driving," said Lewis, who added that the five-passenger Honda Passport was so packed he couldn't see who was driving when he climbed into the back. "She was swerving and speeding. I think she was driving on purpose like that but I'm not sure why."

The Honda Passport driven by Cayson was registered to 33-year-old Marquis A. Stephenson, of Youngstown, about 20 miles away, State Highway Patrol Lt. Brian Holt said.

Stephenson met with police Monday and filed a stolen-vehicle report. Police said none of the teens was related to Stephenson or had permission to use the SUV. His relationship to Cayson or the teens remained unclear.

"She was loving. She was silly and she was a clown," Cayson's sister, Ashia Cayson, told CNN affiliate WKBN. "She liked to make everybody laugh even when we were sad."

It remained unknown where the teens were headed when the crash happened just before 7 a.m., and it wasn't clear how long they had been out. All were from Warren, a blue-collar town of about 41,000 people about an hour east of Cleveland.

The father of one victim said the teenagers were returning from a sleepover at a friend's house, but the mother of another boy killed said her son and his best friend had lied about staying over at each other's homes that evening. She said she thinks they went to a party.

"If only he had listened," said Lisa Williamson, mother of 17-year-old Brandon Murray. "I told him, `Don't you go nowhere.' But they're kids."

State police said the SUV could seat five safely and that there were "signs of seat-belt usage," the Youngstown Vindicator reported. Five of the dead were found inside the SUV, which landed on its roof in five feet of water. The sixth was ejected and found under the roof when the vehicle was removed.

"All I know is my baby is gone," said Derrick Ray, who came to the crash site after viewing his 15-year-old son Daylan's body at the county morgue. He said he knew that his son, a talented football player who was looking forward to playing in high school, was out with friends, but didn't know their plans.

Daylan Ray's 12-year-old half-sister, Mariah Bryant, left a heartfelt letter at a memorial at the crash site. "It hurts, it really does, because they are so young and, like, they could have had so much more to life," she said.

In the past year she learned that Ray was her brother. "We just really started getting close, and it's hard to believe he's gone."

Henry and Lewis kicked out a rear window to escape and swim to safety. They then ran a quarter mile to a home to call 911.

Behner and White arrived at St. Joseph Health Center "in full cardiac arrest" from hypothermic drowning trauma, and pronounced dead, said Julie Gill, a nursing supervisor.

Rickie Bowling, 18, a friend of Behner's, sobbed at the scene as she recalled his playfulness and reputation as a cut-up.

"He was one of a kind," she said. "Everyone knew him in the neighborhood. In school, he always made everyone laugh."

Bowling said the tragedy highlighted the importance of cherishing life. "Basically, enjoy every second in life," she said. "Enjoy life while you've got it and while you're here and enjoy people that you love."

She said she would rely on her faith in the difficult days ahead. "The only way to look at it is on the bright side: He's in a better place," she said.